What we do - Our Approach

...we see our clients and suppliers as allies...

We take a long-term view of business. Every project is part of a continuing relationship in which we see our clients and suppliers as allies, and this has a strong influence on our approach. We work one step at a time, avoiding grand plans, delivering solid gains quickly, and with a commitment to challenging ourselves, as well as helping our clients.

Change is a journey...

Change is a journey, on which we work as guides for you, our clients. First, together we analyse the present situation, and choose the next goal ("define"). Then we assist you in planning the route, and preparing for the journey ("develop"). We will travel with you ("apply"), and on reaching the goal we are there to help examine what has been achieved ("assess"), and to help you to decide what your next goal should be.

All our change projects follow this four-phase lifecycle. It requires that the objectives and how they will be met are agreed, defined, and specified, before any significant commitment of resources. Subsequently the development must be shown to meet its specification before it is applied. Once in use its operational impact will be assessed, to confirm how well the need was defined, and how well the delivery met requirement. This then feeds back into deciding what happens next.

...key management practices for every organisation...

Routine corporate operations normally follow set processes which minimise costs, avoid risk, and have limited flexibility. However, change requires a flexible framework that supports control of varying objectives and the management of risk. A well-managed project provides this framework. Each project must be configured to accommodate its objectives, and once these are achieved it should end. In most cases, a programme of change will involve a number of projects. This makes project and programme management key management practices for every organisation, and their systematic use is vital for successful corporate change.

We expect to make the case for change...

All too often change initiatives wither and die, because the relationship between client and advisor is tentative, ambiguous, or remote. Typically this is a sign of poor preparation, for which the client is unfairly blamed. We expect our Principals and Associates to make the case for change, and this must be a matter of persuasion through the facts.

This simple model is characteristic of our approach. We take great care to give a consistent structure to everything we do. Where we can find ways to make things simpler then we do.